"Scum, are we? What makes you think you're such a superior human being? Your money? If you do, you're a dull-witted fool, Mr. Kirby. And a poor one at that. You're poorer than any of these people that you call scum, because I'll guarantee at least they've got some friends. While you with your jungle and your long claws, as you call 'em, you'll wind up your miserable existence without anything you can call friend. You may be a high mogul to yourself, Mr. Kirby, but to me you're a failure - failure as a man, failure as a human being, even a failure as a father. When your time comes, I doubt if a single tear will be shed over you. The world will probably cry, "Good riddance." That's a nice prospect, Mr. Kirby. I hope you'll enjoy it. I hope you'll get some comfort out of all this coin you've been sweating over then!" This quote is spoken by Grandpa Vanderhof in the 1938 film You Can't Take It With You. In it Tony Kirby, son of Anthony Kirby, banker & business mogul, has become engaged to Alice Sycamore, whose family might kindly be termed as eccentric... they're kind and loving but also nutty. Alice, conscious of the class divide between the two families and, more to the point, the vast differences in interests and outlooks, tells Tony that the two families must meet and plans a classy dinner party. Tony, who thinks the Vanderhofs are a lot of fun, wants his parents to know them as they are, not how they'll appear at the dinner, pretending to be what they're not. To this end he tells his parents the wrong date for dinner and they arrive unexpectedly while a regular- one can't really say normal- evening is in progress at the Vanderhof's. It's not a success; everything goes wrong and the night culminates with the house being raided by the FBI due to a misunderstanding over Alice's father and brother-in-law making and selling fireworks out of the cellar. Everyone including the Kirbys are taken to jail until things can be sorted out. The men end up in the drunk tank while the women are in a cell with a bunch of women picked up for solicitation. Mr. Kirby, not unjustifiably a bit upset, rages at Tony for getting involved with a girl outside his social class, then goes on to condemn everyone in the cell as low scum. It's at this point that the generally affable and easygoing Grandpa Vanderhof loses his temper and says the above words to Mr. Kirby.
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